May 2011 posts

May 29, 2011

It has come to my attention that there are artists making amazing things with materials they purchased from Rose Mille. Yes, I suspected that this was going on many times as I measured out yards and yards of silk ribbons and vintage trims, I might even ask;"So what are you making?". With oooh's and aaaah's and a promise to share pictures, it is rare that I actually get to see these works of art.

{Until now}

One such conversation was with an adorable artist; Shasta Feltman, who has a wonderful blog called the Traveling Cabinet. You see she often goes to amazing places, that I haven't even dreamed of going to and she writes about it. Some are near and some are far.

May 26, 2011

I love that certain varieties of flowers all bloom at the same time every year.

{Here in Minnesota, Lilacs bloom in May}

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This year the Lilacs were about a week late I think, which is most likely because we had a looooong winter.

{California dream'in}

One of the first things we planted in our yard, when we moved here in 2002, was a row of Lilac bushes.

They were only a foot high then, but we imagined that one day they would grow over 10 feet tall and provide a private little corner on the side of our house, right next to a neighborhood path. Nine years later, the Lilacs are way over my head.

{and I'm pretty tall}

Not only are Lilacs beautiful to look at, but their fragrance is heavenly. In fact, when you first walk into Rose Mille, it's the smell of French Lilac soap that everyone loves so much.

May 21, 2011

Such talent, such skill! Watch out world a new batch of Milliners is upon you.

A dozen women spent a perfect Saturday afternoon making hats, while the sky's were raining out-doors. But as they made their way home, the sun shone on their new chapeaus.

We sprayed, we shaped, we stitched and we trimmed. Everyone started out making the same hat, but no two were alike in the end.

I love it when women get together to create, (men are welcome too)! I have found that no matter where you go in this small world, that when we get together to create, we are all at our best and everything is right in the world.

For a few hours anyway.

And we all lived to see the sun rise another day.

{Yes, I am looking at the calendar to schedule another workshop, stay tuned.}

The bodies, also known as "hoods", "cones" and "capelines", all start out in a "natural" color and take to the dye process very well. You just never know the color they will produce. When choosing the color, the warm ivory color of the hoods must be kept in mind, because it will affect the end result.

I am not a very experienced dyer, and doing many colors at once I am not recommending, unless there is more than one person. The wind blew some blue and pink dry dye, {okay maybe I was splashing too much} on some of them while they were in the dye causing some spots. Aarrgghh, And because I could not constantly stir each one, the colors are spotty.

But they are still pretty and very interesting. I even dyed some white grosgrain ribbon to match, but.... of course they don't match!

Not to worry, I have lots and lots of colors of grosgrain ribbon we can use.

There is still room in the hat class, to be held on Saturday, May 21st from 10-2. Check it out.

This is a sample of what you can make! {But in a different color perhaps?}